Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Marriage Basics A Personal Commitment To God and His Word

Gtcotr/ws042016

God’s
Word will settle every question. Either God’s Word speaks directly to the issue
or His Word gives direct guidance in how to settle those issues not directly
spoken to in the Word.

The
number one problem with marriages worldwide is that people think they know more
than God knows or have a better idea – maybe they are facing something God did
not consider or account for. Perhaps God didn’t mean what He said or for some
reason it simply doesn’t apply to me.

When
people reserve the right to discount or disobey God’s Word they will have
problems they cannot fix.

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way
that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

9 "For as the
heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My
thoughts than your thoughts.

God knows what He is talking about and He is just smarter and nicer and kinder
and more loving and wiser than are we.

Matthew 24:35
"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means
pass away.

Even
when we don’t fully understand it or feel it is unfair to our situation,
nonetheless God’s Word will stand up to the test of time and prove to be the
best in every situation … and especially when dealing with relationships since
relationships are the most important thing to God.

Job
36 11&12 tell us that if we will obey and serve the Lord then we will spend
our days in prosperity and our years in pleasure.

Last
week we discussed the fact that God is the Author of marriage and that He
remains pro marriage. We found that God likens marriage to a mystery which can
only be understood in light of Jesus and the Church. The Church is a group of
people who have been called out of the world and called together into a family.
The Church is both the Body and the Bride of Christ. These analogies are
realities and serve to describe what God expects from the covenant
relationships we enter into with others on the earth.

The
blending of two lives together into one can be tough. Thankfully God has gone
before us and given us the blueprint for a perfect marriage.

Marital
conflict among committed Christians seldom begins with someone not knowing what
to do. Rather the biggest problems most people face in marriage is having and
holding reasons why they don’t do what God says they should do. There simply is
no other explanation.

Believing
we have a better way than God’s way is the original cause of every problem we
see on earth. When it comes to marriage, doing it your way instead of His way is
a recipe for disaster.

When
there is no higher authority to which we must answer we become a god unto
ourselves. As well, the practice of fashioning a god who is limited to seeing
things your way and always agreeing with you is a pagan ritual which will
demand daily sacrifice of your family on its altar. Jesus gives life, all other
gods demand death and they can never be satisfied. When you are either in a
place where you or someone else in the relationship cannot or will not be
satisfied with simply following the Word of God, idolatry is at the root of the
problem. The most difficult idol to break free from worshipping is self. Let’s
see how we can deliver ourselves and our relationships from that false god.

This
brings us to our first of the Seven Deadly Sins of Marriage, (A counseling guide by RL Hammonds,
published by GTCOTR, Inc., Revised 2002)

Number One - The Lack of:

A Personal Commitment to God and His
Word

There
are three commitments I encourage every married individual to make and strive
to keep:

1.I accept God’s Word as full and final authority in my life and
decisions.

2.When God’s Word is spoken I will listen and submit without
hesitation, justification or aggravation. (Without
regard as to when or where it is spoken or who speaks it.)

3.Without regard as to what others do or don’t do, I will hold myself
one hundred percent responsible to keep my commitment to God and His Word.

This
commitment puts God in the driver’s seat, totally responsible and accountable
to deal with the other person. I’m sure you have noticed that there is a
certain undeniable truth in life: We cannot make another person change. We can
encourage, model, mentor and pray for others however, change and godliness only
comes from each individual’s decision to change.

It
is my hope that I can give God reason in my world to work on others around me
who are causing the problems instead of finding that He has identified me a
contributor to the problem or perhaps the problem itself. When we please God
and submit to His Word several things happen behind the scenes in the spirit
realm.

1.We
stand right with God

2.God
is welcomed into the relationship

3.He
becomes responsible to convict and convince the other person

4.We
find a peace that passes all understanding and a joy that is unspeakable and
full of glory right there in the midst of our situation.

5.The
victory we achieve in each battle will lead us to win the war.

6.We
become examples to others and give them hope for their lives.

7.When
we see our greatest responsibility is to please God, we find success much
easier and more rewarding than first imagined.

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Description of Color Code

You may notice that Pastor Ron Hammonds' notes contain colors of red, blue and green. These are color cues for the Studio 220 production department at Church on the Rock- Redis a code to place the notation on the overhead screens- Blueis for a lower-third graphic for ourChurch Onlinecongregation, and- Greenis a note that he wants to appear on screen but may not say it aloud.